mlroseplant

After reading the most recent replies to this thread, I was curious, so I asked Uncle Google, "Is Fuzzy Logic a form of AI?" Of course, AI gave me the first response, "Of course it is, you silly-billy!" I did not spend a great deal of time digging a lot deeper, so perhaps the official definition of AI is a bit broader than I generally think of, but I do have a rebuttal, which I believe is relevant here. Fuzzy Logic has been around for a while (evidently, at least 30 to 40 years, according to our local reporting). I have a "Fuzzy Logic" rice cooker. It works great. It will cook rice well even if the human involved messes up and adds too much water. If those sorts of things are actually AI, they are a distinct subset which is, as far as I can see, only good. They do not require many data centers which suck down the same amount of electricity as a whole city in order to operate. My rice cooker or at9's washing machine is not going to steal anybody's original creative material or cause anybody to lose his job. Nor does anybody question whether the rice or the clothes are "real." I'm not sure how we make that distinction, but I think it needs to be made.

I am not 100% sure how a washer/dryer can be AI. It sounds to me like it's an ordinary European style unit with a bunch of sensors in it to make sure the job is completed efficiently. It's not like the machine is designed to create anything. If it got into an argument with you, that would be a whole nuther level. . .

@Shyheels, I am not 100% sure what your question is referencing, but the first thing that comes to mind is the motorbike. I don't have anything special planned until next year, as our season is rapidly drawing to a close. Basically, I'll ride until I can't stand it anymore, which is somewhere in the neighborhood of 5º. One of these days, I'll have to drag out my standing in heels story again for @higherheels's benefit. Possibly there are other who have not heard it before, but I don't have time today to write it all out.

I have been called out fairly publicly within my profession. I know I've been talked about for years on a limited basis, but this is the first time a fellow has questioned me in front of colleagues about my fashion choices. I am obligated to take occasional continuing education classes to maintain my professional license. Sometimes the classes are interesting, but usually they're something to be endured. Oftentimes, I see colleagues at these classes whom I have not worked around in years, and it's always an interesting game of "Who Are You?". We should really be required to wear name tags, just like at a high school class reunion. 10 years can add a mighty long beard or a lot of gray hair. One of the guys I haven't seen in several years came right out and asked, "Didn't I see you wearing high heels?" He was referring to a social media post, I'm sure. There are only a couple out there that are very obvious, but they are there. I simply said yes. He asked if this was something I did at home in the evenings, and I said pretty much anytime I'm not at work. It went on for a few more minutes until somebody interrupted him with a "Daaaave! How you doin', brother?" It wasn't a bad conversation, but it was a little awkward. I didn't sense any disgust or condescending looks from anybody.

Meanwhile, our temperatures here in Iowa are on the warm side. It sure looks like I'll be able to ride my motorbike to work for at least a couple more weeks. I never count on being able to ride past September consistently. What that also means is that sandal season is not yet over, either. @higherheels, 800 meters in 12 cm heels is pretty amazing. My question is, did this event involve much standing, or were you able to be seated most of the time? If you had to do much standing at all, I'm really impressed. @Shyheels, I can see where you'd have to be really motivated to get out and practice. And you know, it's funny that we're even talking about it in this way. There must be very few people in this world who would actually carry a special pair of shoes to a place just to practice wearing them. Maybe beauty pageant contestants? Dancers?

I have never even attempted to wear heels in the mud, nor would I want to. No sense in ruining a perfectly good pair of shoes. But hey, look at the bright side--at least you don't have to use the towpath for actual towing.

I didn't wind up wearing my steepest heels to the recital, but I did wear some pretty impressive looking ones. Yes, they are a full 15 cm, but you have to discount for the 3.5 cm platform. Not super impressive, but enough of a workout over 600 m x 2. The brand is Onlymaker, and they are actually pretty decent quality for being an inexpensive shoe.

What it comes down to is that many people don't know what's real and what's not, and maybe they don't care. That's the scary part.

I also had a demanding week, but may break out my highest presentable heels today. I am to attend a music recital this afternoon, which will involve about a 600 m walk each way. The key for me is warming up a little bit first. Once I get to that height, I can't just put on my shoes and go. There has to be preflight.

The younger one says he doesn't care at all, and I believe him to an extent, but I KNOW for a fact that he enjoys his reputation as the kid who shows up to school in greasy jeans and beat up work boots who can also write and speak well and play the heck out of a saxophone. It's a subtle statement saying, "I am one of the few kids who knows how to drive a manual transmission, and I am the ONLY kid in my school who knows how to rebuild a carburetor." He might also be the only kid in his school who knows how to spell carburetor, and that there are two possible ways to spell it, depending upon which side of the pond you're on.

You and both of my kids. I have no idea how I managed to raise two boys who never wear shorts and always wear work boots. They arrived at this fashion/function/comfort decision independently. I threw "fashion" in there because there certainly IS that element in the mix, particularly with the older boy. Sandals are very tricky. In my experience anyway, it's much harder to find a "good" pair of sandals than it is fully enclosed shoes or boots. Then again, I'm probably pickier than most people, both about appearance and comfort.

As many of you know, I do like to wear shorts. Now is the time when it will soon be time to say goodbye until next year. These are perhaps my favorite jean shorts from l.e.i. I like the fact that they are pretty short, but not super tight in the legs, making them a little less racy than would otherwise be the case. They are size 5, which means they are juniors and not misses (which is the U.S. term for "women's"). One would think that juniors would fit my nonexistent hips better, and they probably do, but the downfall of that slimmer cut is that they are much better when standing up than when sitting down. Were it not for the fact that I have certain plumbing installed that was not really designed into these shorts, I would have no complaints. In other words, they are a bit tight in the crotch when the legs are not parallel with the torso. I have actually had compliments from strangers on these shorts in the past, with one gal even asking what brand they were. To be sure, I was in a standing position at the time. Paired with the shorts (and my 175th anniversary of our local church t-shirt) are my Bruno Magli Kira suede mules. Suede and summer might seem an odd combination, but somehow with these sandals, it works. They could probably use a good cleaning, though. For something casual and comfortable, they fit right in. One of the things I like about them is that they are a very narrow wedge, so they are not clompy at all, as many wedges can be. It is almost like walking in stilettos without the worry of putting your heel down a crack. *** A technical note: These sandals are size 38 1/2. I do not care what many size conversion charts say. 38 1/2 ≠ 8 1/2 U.S. Women's. I made them work, but they are just *this* close to being too small. I could have probably used a 39 or 39 1/2.

It would seem unlikely without an invite, but who knows? I believe that there are any number of people who might like to join our community if only they knew that we actually wear heels instead of just fantasizing about them. We've had our dress-up-in-front-of-the-mirror people also, but I think they tend to find us very boring (and vice versa).

Ah yes, but were we rich enough for such luxuries. I'm talking about Italian Heels as if I'm going to buy some. Not until I procure the Next Big Job. I will certainly be laid off from the one I'm on right now, it's only a question of whether it will be in a couple of weeks or a couple of months. So for now, I'll have to participate in the challenge with slightly low heels. I'm not THAT far off. 12 cm on size 40 still translates to what? 11.3 or 4? What's a few millimeters among friends?

I did manage to get a photo taken this week of my church outfit. I can tell you this: While I am caught up on the laundry, I am WAY behind on the ironing. I am to the point where I have to scroll through my camera and see whether I'm repeating an outfit from two weeks ago. I decided that it had been a while since I'd worn purple, and it had been a long while since I'd worn my Michael Kors black and tan sandals. One thing about doing this steep heel challenge, it makes shoes like these effectively 4 1/8" heels seem like a little bit of nothing (5 1/8" heel, 1" platform).

I have been looking pretty seriously at Italian Heels. I hear they are nice. @Jkrenzer says they tend to stretch out fast, but perhaps that is not a concern for me. My biggest concern is that a size 40 is a size 40. And should I elect to get sandals, as I am wont to do, do I go with 39? 39.5? One thing about buying cheap stuff on ebay is, if it doesn't work out, there is very little remorse.

While I haven't led any tours, I've participated in a few over the years, and it does seem like heels have gradually gone away. In particular, my first trip to Chicago as a tourist was in the 1980s as a high school student. We did many of the tourist-y things, and I can remember many heels being worn by tourists during that trip. I can specifically remember a group from Germany in which several of the women chose to wear 3 to 4" stiletto pumps to do their walking tour. No heels in our particular group, but we were kids. On the last trip I made, seven years ago, I was the only one wearing high heels that I saw. There were a very few pairs of mid-to-low heeled wedges, but nothing to write home about.

I have to admit to having a problem with this challenge. The problem is, I don't technically own any heels of the proper height for it. I do have several pair which are a measured 12 cm, but that's on size 40. Otherwise, I have two pair of what are bordering on extreme heels at 14 cm. I find those to be frustrating for two reasons: First, both of them are low quality, and they don't even feel nice to put on, much less try to walk in. Second, the jump to 14 cm is too much. Even with nobody watching, I feel very silly wearing these things. It seems like I need reminding every few weeks why I never wear these shoes. So I need to procure a nice pair of 12 cm that actually fit me.

Yesterday, I did my longest loop, which involves some hills. I was wearing 10 cm heels (not stilettos). It occurred to me that instead of being slightly irritated at having to walk downhill in heels as I usually am, I should look at it as good training for steeper heels. It's a slightly different physical dynamic, but the effect is basically the same.

I am about to set some durability records, which I will write about elsewhere as soon as they actually happen. However, with one pair, it's going to be a nail-biter. I've owned four pairs of this particular type of shoe, and the same thing always happens at about 100 miles--the shank breaks, and they're done. On pair number 4, I've currently got 105 miles, 10 miles short of the record for this particular shoe model. However, I noticed yesterday that one of my top lifts (heel tips) has started to wear kind of funny. You know what THAT means--impending doom! We'll see if they last another 10 miles in the days to come.

It would be very interesting to interview Ms. Ton, HHP style. The news outlets who have interviewed her thus far have not been asking the right questions! I personally am the most interested in exactly how she wound up picking that particular style. I have many different types of sandals, and that would be almost the last choice I would have made, a single strap across the toes with a closed heel and a strap round the ankle. Evidently, it works for her! But why is nobody asking the question?

I've been practicing out in the garage with my 11.5 cm stiletto mules. It sounds strange, but it's the only place I've got where I can walk more than 6 steps in a row, so I can try to perfect my walk the best I can before I take it to the streets.

In my usual walk routine, I have short days and long days. Yesterday was a short day, meaning my walk was but a single mile (1.6 km). I chose to wear "real" high heels, just to up my game a little bit. Not all the way up to 12 cm, but close. Maybe 10.5 or 11, once you discount a little bit for my size 40. There is a big difference between that and my typical 8 to 10 cm walking shoes. If I ever get to the point where the high ones feel completely natural to walk in, that will be something. They weren't bad at all, I just never felt super at ease with them. The entire mile felt like, "Yes, you are wearing high heels."

Back to the question of what does it really accomplish. I personally get it, but I also can see your point of view. I mean, I'm kind of guilty of the same thing on a much smaller level. Why do I keep track of how many miles I walk in heels? What does THAT really accomplish? My answer to that is that it's just fun for me, and if nobody else gets it, that's fine. Nobody except for you guys even knows about my record keeping, so I definitely don't do it for the fame! On the other hand, I wouldn't want to work my job in heels, even though it would be a bit of an accomplishment. I'm not sure what the qualitative difference is, but there is one to me personally.

Hasn't had any problems with the ankles, but the blisters sure do suck. Yup, been there, done that. I carry bandaids with me at nearly all times, and sometimes even then, it doesn't work. 2024 was the Year of the Band-Aid, but this year, not so much, despite the fact that my walking mileage is nearly 50% more than last year. I have some theories about why, but no concrete evidence to back it up. The article did not really go into specifics about the negative feedback she got from "mostly male" commenters, but I can imagine. Some guys just love to tell a woman what to do. It's part of some people's culture. "Oh, that's really stupid, hon, you're going to get hurt." You know what else will get you hurt? Playing American football. This is the same conversation I had with my "sports medicine" chiropractor when he told me that wearing heels was super bad for my body in general. Not as bad as playing football. I would advise your patients to quit that immediately. End of conversation. It's never come up again.